


Counting on

by candles_to_stars



Series: Making it count [3]
Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Children, Fluff, M/M, Parenthood, Referenced Mpreg, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:41:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9461468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candles_to_stars/pseuds/candles_to_stars
Summary: After the birth of their twins, Magnus and Alec navigate through parenthood.Continues after Counting sheep (and Counting blessings) and it will make more sense if you've read at least part 1 first.





	1. Chapter 1

Alec had been lying in bed for what seemed like a small eternity. He’d been in bed during his pregnancy. He’d been in bed during labour, an now, he was in bed after everything, forcing his boyfriend to take care of two handfuls of babies. From what he’d seen, just Cinta by herself was something else. She could be asleep one minute and screaming her lungs out at full volume the next. She’d been with him a couple of times over the course of the last day, napping on the blankets next to where he lay, but as soon as she started to wake up, Magnus burst in to take her. 

He’d seen his boyfriend get more and more flustered and pale all day long, his hair dipping and eyes wide. Because he didn’t just have a new born girl to take care of without allowing Alec out of bed, he also had an underdeveloped baby boy in a cube that needed twice the attention his sister demanded. 

And no matter what Alec said, Magnus wouldn’t allow him to get out of bed again, saying that he’d already stretched it by getting up so soon after the operation and he wasn’t going to risk anything. Not when it concerned Alec’s health. He didn’t seem to realize Alec also cared about Magnus’ health. It Magnus ran himself into the ground taking care of the twins in this single day, how were they going to get through the next year? 

Sometimes, Alec drifted off to sleep, the combination of residue magic as well as exhaustion taking its toll. However, whenever he was abruptly woken whenever heard crying coming from the nursery. The living room. The kitchen. The bathroom. Twice, Magnus had dropped into the bedroom to check on him, both of the times looking agitated, but mostly he’d just watched his boyfriend run past the door. 

‘Mags.’ The tall warlock was once more moving by the door towards the nursery, a crying Cinta wrapped in his arms. 

‘What is it, Alexander?’ He asked as he popped his head back inside. His hair was flopping down in his eyes, and the both of them could hear crying coming from Max in the twin’s room. The small boy sounded as inconsolable as his big sister.

‘Give her to me,’ Alec said, spreading his arms towards the door. ‘You go get Max.’

‘Darling,’ Magnus started, eyes flitting to the other door. However, Alec was done with watching him run himself into the ground. It had gone on for most of the day, and both of the twins were getting more and more tired, unable to sleep as they were constantly woken up by each other, effectively keeping Magnus and him awake as well. He was tired and achy, and he missed holding his children almost as much as he missed his boyfriend by his side. He wanted to get some rest. For all of them. 

‘Magnus. You are my boyfriend. They’re my children as well. You don’t have to do this alone. Give Cinta to me and go to the nursery.’ Even from where he laid on the bed, he could see some sort of hesitant relieve in his eyes. Magnus bit his lips for a second, before coming forwards, holding out the small bundle. 

‘I don’t know what’s wrong. She doesn’t want her bottle, and she doesn’t need to be changed. But she hasn’t stopped crying for almost an hour.’ _I know_ , Alec thought. He’d heard her, and it broke his heart. 

‘I’ve got her,’ he whispered after rolling onto his back, holding his baby girl against his chest and smiling up at the other man. Magnus was still standing next to the bed, eyes glued onto the shadowhunter and their daughter. However, when another cry came from the nursery, he held up his hands, claiming: ‘I’ll be right back!’ before practically running out of the room. 

Smiling after the warlock, Alec redirected his gaze at the tiny, still crying girl on his chest. 

‘Shhh,’ he shushed, making little cooing noises as the crying continued. His hands looked huge next to her scrunched up face, but he was carefully stroking the soft hairs covering her head. ‘Shhh. I’m here, Love. Shhh.’

Time seemed to slip away as they laid there. Alec was still cooing at her, and Cinta was still crying. However, after what seemed like an eternity, the cries started to die down. 

‘That’s right, sweety. Go to sleep,’ Alec whispered almost soundless, pressing a kiss onto the top of her head. Her eyelids started to drop, and when her mouth opened in a little yawn, Alec’s heart melted into a puddle. A smile tugged at his lips. 

‘Alec.’ He looked up, and there Magnus was, looking at the sleeping Cinta as if she was the biggest miracle he’d ever seen. Of course, she really was their own personal miracle. Both her and her brother. They were impossible and alive.  
Not needing to hear anything more, Alec tugged at the blanket, uncovering the mattress next to him. Without a word, Magnus dropped down on the bed, curling into the shadowhunter with a tired sigh.

‘Are you all right?’ Alec’s heart swelled from where it was still melted from their daughter’s cuteness. Because of course Magnus still worried about him. There were bags under his eyes and he’d been running around to take care of their babies, but he still cared about Alec first. No matter how much Alec had been concerned about his boyfriend, Magnus had also been concerned about him. Of course he was, forcing him to stay in bed just because he believed that would be better, no matter how much work there was to be done now that they had two new-borns in the loft.

‘I am,’ came the easy answer, as he pressed a kiss to Magnus’ lips. ‘Is Max?’

‘He is,’ Magnus kissed him back, careful not to jostle the sleeping girl between them. ‘He was hungry again.’

‘We should’ve bought more formula,’ Alec chuckled.

‘I can always summon more, you know? You are the one that’s against using magic for the groceries.’ 

‘Our children will grow up thinking they never need to work for anything.’ At his words, Magnus lips broke into a smile, crinkling his eyes and showing all of his teeth off with how big it was. Love filled his eyes as he gazed upon Alec. He placed a hand on top of the younger boy’s, covering their daughter almost completely. 

‘Our children,’ he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbeta'd and I haven't proof read it yet, so sorry for any mistakes. I'm just writing this to put of studying...


	2. Chapter 2

‘Say it. Say daddy, darling. Come on. Daddy.’ Magnus’ heart melt hearing the words. Whenever Alec interacted with the twins, his heart would just well up and fill his chest before melting down in a puddle of goo. 

After the last few months, he wondered whether his heart would ever feel the same again, as “goo” was pretty much its permanent state at the moment. 

Alec was sitting on the sofa, balancing a beaming Cinta on his lap. The little girl erupted in a fit of giggles whenever Alec would talk to her, clapping her tiny hands and laughing so loud you’d think his Alexander was the most hilarious person on earth. 

‘You know they’re still way too young to be talking, right?’ Shifting Max on his hip, Magnus deftly balanced both bottles and the baby while making his way over to the couch. The last five months had taught him balance better than any sixty-seven year old Tibetan monk ever could. He plopped down next to his boyfriend – his better half – and handed the shadowhunter the second bottle to feed their girl with, pressing a kiss on the top of her head, which made her laugh again. 

‘I know. I just can’t wait…’ Alec looked down at where Cinta was greedily grabbing at her bottle before looking over to where Max was leaning against Magnus’ stomach, sucking on his own. ‘They’re still so small, Max especially…’ Even months after he was born, months after he got out of the incubator, Max was still thin and so much smaller than his big sister. Catarina said that was normal, and he’d probably always be smaller than other children his age because of the complication, but Alec couldn’t help but worry. 

Worry about Max’s growth. Worry about Max’s health. Worry about Cinta having to spend her whole life taking care of her little brother. Worry about missing an important milestone in his children’s lives. Worry about… getting injured in the field. Worry about not making it home one night. Worry about their children growing up without their dad. Worry about leaving Magnus behind, alone with the two tiny ones.

‘I wish they would stay small and young and tiny forever. They are just too precious to ever grow up.’ Magnus was so engrossed in watching their son drink he didn’t notice Alec’s worries, which he was glad for. He’d been doing his best to keep them under lock and key from the moment they reared their ugly head. He knew there was no point in worrying, because he could give up neither his kids nor his job. Really, he just wanted to enjoy every moment he had with his kids. Making the most out of every minute and not wasting any moment he had with them and Magnus. 

All this was a bit much too simply spill over their daily morning bottle. 

It was just after finishing her bottle that Cinta started getting fuzzy on her dad’s lap, so Alec paced her down on her play mat and rested his head on Magnus’ shoulder, looking down at Max. Whereas his sister always seemed to get a lot of new energy after finishing her bottle, Max always got drowsy, and his eyelids were drooping, though he seemed to be struggling to keep them open. Magnus was gently rocking him, humming a soft lullaby. 

‘He really is too precious,’ the shadowhunter said, running the tip of his finger down his son’s cheek. Then, to the boy: ‘It’s all right, little one, you can go back to sleep.’ As if understanding his daddy’s words, Max closed his eyes soon after and Magnus went to put him in his cradle.

Upon re-entering the room, Magnus saw his boyfriend looking down at Cinta with adoration clear as day in his eyes.

‘They’ll be fine,’ he said, and Alexander looked back up at him. Leaning down to press a kiss to the younger’s lips, he whispered: ‘They’ll be perfect.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something sweet and fluffy  
> Not Beta'd


End file.
